Apparatus for the manufacture of tubes of cement asbestos or similar substances



. 1,627,104 D. MATTEI ET AL APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES 0F CEMENT ASBESTOS OR SIMILAR SUBSTANCES Filed Feb. 18. 1921 4 Sheets-Shut 1 l-NVENTORSI Diego Matte/L. Adolfo Mm. 1.0L.

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ay D. MATTEI ET AL APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES 0F CBIIBNT ASBESTOS 0R SIMILAR SUBSTANCES Filed Feb. 18. 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. Diego Malta.

Adolfo Manna.

JKWM&G.

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May 1927' D. MATTEI ET AL APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES OF CEMENT ASBESTOS 0R SIMILAR SUBSTANCES Filed Feb. 18. 1921 4 Shoots-Shoot 3 INVENTORSf Diego Mal .Aa,o'Lf0 MWWL'R" 1 1,627,104 May 927 D. MATTEI EI'AL v APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE-OF TUBES OF CEMENT ASBESTOS OR SIMILAR SUBSTANCES Filed Feb. 18. 1921 4 shuts-shut 4 .l IN VEN TO RSJ 0170 70 Mafbt'ei Adolfo M4415 smaller. pipes, cannot be evenly- Patented May 3, 1927.

" UNITED STATES 1,627,104 P T NT O F- E:

DIEGO MATTEI AND ADOLFO MAZZA, OI GENOA,- TTAL'Y, ASSIGNORS TO ETEBNIT," PETRA ARTIIICIALE, SOCIETA ANONIMA OF GENOA, ITALY, AN ITALIAN CO1.-

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES OI GEMENT ASBESTOS OB'S SUBSTANCES.

nusttc Application filed I'ebruary'18, 1921, Serial No. 446,046, and in Italy larch 2, 1890.

1 cause Eternit slabs in fact are but tubes out along oneof their generating lines and then developed on' a flat surface while they are still in soft conditions, yet in practice involves numerous difiiculties of various kinds on account of the various requirements which the tubes must fulfil.

These requirements may be summarized as follows:

1st.--The tubes should be perfectly circa;

I lar in cross section and their inside diameter should be uniform.

2nd.They' should exhibit a uniform thickness and a high strength'in order to be capable to withstandthe high pressures to which they will be subjected.

3rd.-They should-be 3 to 4 metres long,

' that is to say much inexcess of the ordinary 2 width (1,20 metres) of the machines for the manufacture of Eternit. or cement andtenacmus as muc as possible consistently asbestos slabs. Y I 4th.Theymust be evenly compressed .over their whole length in order that they 3 may be possessed of equal strength throughout.

With v-Eternit machines gsgitably widened to-- give the required tu length) in which'the pressure on the tube making 0 lin er inder is' appliedatthe endof the cy axis, even if this pressure, by means of sleeves, be transmitted to the inside of the cylinder at the'points that are most convenient towards the reduction of sagging,

yet it is absolutely impossible to obtain pipes ofsmall or-medium size and considera complying with the above said reuirements for two reasons: firstly because, he to the rolling action on the material, the material detaches itself from the main linder espec iall inthe center portion,t us creasin 1n diaiiieter before it has reache the required thickness, and in the second place because the pressure, especially with I distributed over the'whole length on account of appear a simple matter be-' ings an band. The stresses to which thepipe ma- .terial 1s subjected due to these resistances.

d' requiredto rotate the main cylinder and the the sagging that occurs in the main cylinder, due

to forces arising in. vertical direction owin to the manner in which pres'sure 1s applie and in horizontal directmn from the tan- The 'passi-veresistances mainl consist in the friction set up in the main cy 'nder beardue to the vertical pressure to which the bearings are subjected and to the horizontal pressure exerted by the travelling 1 will obviously increase with decreasing. pipe diameter, and with small pipes will be still greater because-sagging cyhnders must be rotated.

In order to remove or lessen the said inconveniences itwill be necessary:

1st.--To arran that the material be r with the other requirements of the working process, and consequently that it be compressed and liberated from the excess water efore, it reaches the main cylinder.

2nd.--To. arrange that the pressure, instead of being concentrated on a single gencrating line, be distributed as evenly as ever possible over the whole of the pi e surface and be gradually decreasing accor ing as the pipe thickness grows,- so that each layer, when being formed, be subjected to a greater pressure than when the successive. layers are applied; the layer will thus no longer tend to increase in length.

. 3rd;'-To arrange that v the tangential forces-to which the ipe walls are subjected be as small as possib 'e, to eliminate or minimize' the bearing friction and to increasethe pipe surface portion over whichthe force pipe is applied. 4

A greater compactness of the material can be obtained by the use of oneor several pairs of pressure ro1lers arranged between the ordinary water suction an the ma n-cylinder. The top -roller in the said pairs material sticking to its surface by meansof an endless felt belt provided with suitable guiding, washing, squeezing, etc., gears.

In order to realize a uniformpressure dis-- tribution over the whole pipe surface, the best method would be tobuild the pipe under the action of'someflexible'body such as felt, for instance, enveloping as much as possiblevof the pipe surface and simultaneously subjected to tension; or, next .to the said method, to subject the pipe to the action of. a 'set of rollers that are positively driven I but not loaded at their ends, these rollers bear upon the pi e being distributed over the pipes periphery and weighting thereon with all their weight and being capable of being shifted along straight or curved guides according as the pipe increases in thickness, or by suitably combining a driven flexible organ and a set of rollers as above indicated, in which case the flexible organ, beside preventin the material from stlcking to the rollers, lfils the duty of preventing the pipe from detaching itselffrom the mai-n cylinder between 'two successive rollers.

In ordinary cases,"thatis to say for the most current pipe'diameters, a single couple of heavy rollers will suffice, the two rollers being symmetrically arranged with respect to the vertical line perpendicular to the generating contact line between the pipe-and the felt band supportin roller and bein driven by an endless felt and which em races a larger or smaller ortion'of the pipe periphery, the embra portion being greater according as the pipe diameter. and thickness are greater; such an arrangement will suffice to obtain the desired pipe thickness. I

In order to effect the requiredpressure variations, the .two

already stated and in addition to this t eir journals should rest on two conveniently shaped surfaces and be ca pable of freely sliding along the same while the pipe is beingbuilt and increases in thick ness; Thepressure exerted by each roller u n the ipe in each successive position wil be obtained by splitting their weight into two components, viz, onenormal to the resting surface and the other, which is the useful component, normal to the pipe, that is to say along the centre line 'of the pressure roller and of the pipe. The total pressure exerted on the generating contact line between the pipeand the lower. felt', band supporting roller will be the resultant of the twopart pressures.

If the of the pressure rollers is ef fected on "plane soIthat the-center line always' maintains the same inclination,

ressure rollers shouldlarge diameter and a large thickness.

the pressure on the pipe will remain constant.

- In order to vary the pressure the direction of the perpendicular to the resting sur-' that fulfil the conditions with which it may be judged convenient to let the pressure vary while the pipe thickness rows and thus to prevent the pi e to detadh itself from the main cylinder hefore it' has reached the desired thickness.

The felt band interposed between the pressure rollersand the pipe and embracing a portion of the pipe periphery as said above.

further prevents the pipe materialfrom a'dhering'to the rollers and must accordingly be, not only driven, but also guided, washed and squeezed.

- The described arrangement also exhibits the advantage that it does away with or appreciably-reduces the passive resistances al- I ready spoken of. The pressure on the main cylinders being no longer applied to their journals, the friction resistances in the bearings due to vertical actions no longer sub- -sist. The tangential action of the main felt band being neutralized or lessened by that of the felt band driving the pressure rollers and running in opposite direction, also the resistances due to tan ential forces will be nearly altogether elimlnated. The bearings which in ordinary machines hold the main cylinders in lace can therefore be dispensed with and rep aced by mere guides serving to ensure the vertical raising of the main cylinder 'while the pipe is being formed.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the: annexed drawings by way of example.

Fig. 1. diagrammatically shows the whole.

machine in side view.

Fig. 2 shows in side view and to a larger scale the detail of the pressure rollers and how they are mounted.

Fig. 3 is a section through ABCD in Fig. 1 and showshow the pressure rollers are supported.

Figures 4 and 5 are a .view and a section respectively of a curved guide for the presv sure-lroller journals.

Fig. 6 is a. View or a double curved guide.

Fig.7 is a vie f a double straight guide. Fig. 8 shows amodified arrangement of the guides, main cylinderand pressure rollers specially adapted for pipes possessing 9.

Figures 9 and 9"are diagrams showing lso 1 to a travelling endless-feltbandB; the presmixture how the pressure distributes itself over the pipe according to the various thicknesses which the ipe is successively acquiring.

The mac iine comprises firstly a certain number of parts which it has in common with the ordinarycardboard and Eternit machines viz: vat-s 1 containing the mixture, rollers 2 covered with wire net, which take the. mixture from the vats 1 and load it on assisting in the delivery o'rlthe from the rollers 2 on to the felt band; band. guiding rollers 5, take-up rollers 6, adjustable rollers-7 for holding the band in the centre, exhauster S taking out the moisture from the mixture carried on the sure rollers 4 I band, band striker 9, perforatedtubes 10 washing the band, squeezi ng rollers 11 for squeezing the water-out of the band after washing, main band-supporting roller 12' on 'pipe forming cylinwhich rests the mam or der 20. v

The following parts are completing the machines A cou le of squeezing rollers 13 13, for further rying the mixture so as to give it a suitable consistencyv to which. object the uper roller may be weighted down out e ower roller by means of weighted levers so as to exert greater or smaller pressure according as may be required: a travelling endless band 14 winding itself round the upor nearer to each; other,

per roller 13' in order 'toprevent-the mixture sticking to this-roller; aguiding roller 15 and a take-u roller 16 for the band 14, an adjustable ro er v16 for holdin' the band 14 in the middle, the-washing tu cs 17 and the driven squeezing rollers 19 receiving the wash water.

20 is the main cylinder on which the pipe is. formed, and 21 21 the pipe compressing rollers carried by journals 21 21'. i

22 22 are the guiding slots in which the journals 21' 21' are carried and can freely move 23 (Fig. '3) are the pivots oi the guides 22 and are inserted in the supports 24; by means of a handwheel and o the right and left hand threaded screw 25 the two supports 24 may be moved further apart I whereby also the pressure rollers, '21- 21 are ther apart or nearer to each other; 26 is haped piece carrying the screw 25, and 27 is a vertical guide inside which the main cylinder 20 or its-journals may be moved up the-p1pe is building. .28

chine framework; the

move vertically along these guides. 29 is a rod on which the; T- haped piece 26 is sus-' pended,-the rod-"29 being actuated by a piston 30 working'in a cylinder 31. v i

. By means of a pressure liquid fed into the cylinder 31 the whole movable, fequi ment comprisingt piston, piston rod 29, T-s aped ject of enabling -in%the building of the pipe.

on the pipe by the rollers blocks 24 and working upon the 18, and the vat the pressure cylind broughtifl ij-farto the uprights of the ma- T-shaped piece can piece 26, slotted guides. 22 and pressure rollers '21 can be raised or lowered to the 0bthe main cylinder 20 to be used to manufacture pipes'fof any diameter and of extracting the pipes after completion. 32 is a travelling endless band passing between the pressure rollers 21 21 and the pipe and encircling a portion of their periphery. 33 are guiding roller for. the said band; 34 are washing tubes; 35 are the driving and at the same time the squeezing I rollers for the said band. 36 are adjustable rollers for keeping the band 32 in the middle, 37 is a heavy take-up roller for the said band and is freely carried on levers 38 or it may be arranged to move infvertical slots; this roller keeps the band duly taut when the movable equipment is raised, as shown by the dotted line 32, and permits-the pressure r0llers 21 21 to be'raised;dur ing the manufacture of the pipes. 39 is a stop against which the- T-shaped piece bears dur he guides 22 can be differently inclined operating the screw 40 which actuates the links 41 attached to-lugs projeetin from the said guides (Figures 2 and 3). n this way the distribution of the pressure exerted 21 can be varied. The guides 22 may also be locked in any desired inclination by screw-42 (Figures 4 and 5) fitted to the ivots 23. The iding slots may be curved igures 4, 5 an 6) or straight (Fig. 7 and'inayzbe formed in the T-shaped piece 26 itsel instead of in a separate piece secured thereto. According to the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 8 (which enables the band to embrace a larger portion of the pipe periphery than the previous arrangement, as may be desirable when lar er and thicker tubes are to be manufactured is the main cylinder, 51

ers in their initial osition viz, when they rest directly on 50, w ereas 50 and 51- respectively show the pi when it has already attained a certain thi ness and the pressure cylinders in their new corresponding position. 32 is the travelling endless felt band embracing a portion of the pressure rollers and a .considerable'portion of the pipe. 7

From the Figures"9 and 9" it readily ap-, pears that-the pressure exerted by the pres.-

means of the setsure-rollers is gradually reduced according as the pipe increases in thickness.

Let OP -O'P'-O"P" be the wei ht of the pressure cylinder. ON.'O'N.' "N" are the perpendibnlars dropped on the supporting surface in the successive positions O-O-O"; OM-O"M O"M"- are the weight components along the linesconnecb ,ing the center of the mam cylinder; and of. no

the pressure cylinderythat is to say the presrollers, a flexible band partially sures exerted by the pressure cylinder on the I The working of the machine is as follows: I

After raising the movable equipmentthe, main cylinder 20 is made to rest on the main band-supporting roller 12. The movable equipment is then lowered until the pressure rollers 21 rest on the main cylinder in the proper position. The movable equipment is then looked against the stop 39.

The machine is now set running and the pressure rollers rise along their respective guides according as the pipe thickness increases. When the pipe is completed, the movable equipment is raised in order to allow of the pipe being extracted.

Having described our invention, What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a machine for the manufacture of pipes of the character described, means for forming a pulp layer comprising a pair of squeezing rollers, an endless band for protecting from the pulp the upper roller of said pair, a main pipe for receiving the layer of pul after the latter has passed between sai squeezing encircling the periphery of the pipe forming cylinder forming cylinder menace for compressing the pulp thereon, a set of heavy periphery of the pi e forming cylinder to compress the pulp uring the manufacture of the pipe, and means for guiding the lattcr rollers to permit their displacement and for gradually decreasing their pressure on the pipe forming cylinder as the thickness of the pipe is increased.

2. A machine accordin to claim 1, having the flexible band adapted to drive the said heavy rollers, whilst preventing the pipe from detaching itself from the main cylinder between the rollers, and preventing the pulp from sticking to the rollers.

3. A machine according to claim 1, having carrying means for the saidheavy driven rollers and their guiding-means, fluid pressure mechanism for'moving the said carrying means into and out of the operative p0-4 the manufacture of the tube, and a take-up roller device for tightening sition during the flexible moved.

4. A machine according to claim I, having means for adjusting said roller guiding and pressure-reducing meansto form pipes of difl'erent diameters.

Signed at Genoa (Italy), this 14th day of January, 1921.

band as the carrying means is nrneo MATTEL anonro MAZZA.

driven rollers distributed along the 

